The 2007 AKA convention is almost here and it's time for the board to consider the location for the 2009 AKA Convention. Wouldn't it be AWESOME if the convention were to be held in Wisconsin!!!!

There are nearly 100 AKA members in Wisconsin, and over 100 members in Illinois! What a great time we could have together flying kites at the National Convention in the Fox Cities of Wisconsin in 2009!

I am asking every AKA Member in WI and IL to phone or email their support for the 2009 AKA Convention in Wisconsin to the AKA Board! See contact info below this message.

The AKA Board will be reviewing the proposals at Convention! That gives us a little over a week to contact our AKA Board Members and ask them to vote for WISCONSIN in 2009.

Proposal Summary:

Location: Fox Cities Wisconsin
The Fox Cities of Wisconsin is only a 3-hour Drive from Chicago.
It is 40 minutes southwest of Green Bay.
And only 90 minutes Northeast of Madison.

Host Hotel and Convention Center: Radisson Paper Valley Hotel Appleton Top-notch accommodations...it doesn't get any better than this! This is the Hotel where the visiting NFL teams stay when they play the Packers. Awesome Vince Lombardi steakhouse on site...and several other cafes, restaurants, sports bar, etc...all downtown Appleton! See you there!

Gift of Wings and the Kite Society of WI & IL have submitted a proposal for holding the 2009 AKA convention in Milwaukee. I have been working with the city of Milwaukee visitors bureau for a few months now and have finally come up with a nice package, with â€œVisit Milwaukeeâ€

I'm not sure how consistent the wind is in Milwaukee, but hey, it's the Midwest--it's what we've got.
Milwaukee certainly seems good as far as accommodations being close enough to the field. It's also convenient to have an airport in town. If the host hotel runs a airport shuttle, out-of-towners may not even have to rent a car.

I don't know anything about the Fox Cities area. They didn't send any photos and Google Maps doesn't have good satellite photos of the area. Anyone else know anything?

OK, folks. What do you think? Would you like to have the convention nearby? Would you like to be involved as a volunteer should it happen?

Yes there will be FREE shuttle running every 30 minutes back and forth to the hotel. In addition, I plan to set up a building or container to hold everyoneâ€™s gear at the park at night so you donâ€™t have to haul it back and forth. In addition, we will also give a 25% discount on all food in the park to all AKA, KSWI, and IKE members, and other clubs that help out. I will also be calling on all IKE members to help us all out with different duties during the convention. Also FREE parking at the field and at the hotel. Kite Boarders will be able to participate because we have Bradford beach Â½ mile north of the park. It will be a lot of fun. Please send your AKA regional director Bob as email at region6@aka.kite.org and let him know that you want the event in Milwaukee. Also an e-mail to the board of directors would be very helpful. Go to www.aka.kite.org and go to the contact us page and let them know your thoughts.

MILWAUKEE 2009 AKA CONVENTIONâ€¦â€¦IT DOESNâ€™T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!!

I don't know if they are going to vote on this at the next meeting, but that meeting is Tuesday morning, so time is fleeting.

I have not seen the Milwaukee proposal for Veteran's Park, but there were always two problems/questions.

1) Space - The AKA Grand National competitions take an enormous amount of space, in addition to the space for free flying. I had repeatedly asked Scott for a scale map with potential field layouts. I never got it. I never could figure out how fit everything in on my own. This is why I never supported a Milwaukee location.

2) Hotel cost. Hopefully they have swung a good deal, but major city hotel costs are usually more than many AK members can / will afford.

The Fox Cities proposal has a different "problem".

The AKA suffers financially from "small" conventions,(smaller auctions). When members and particularly members' spouses from other parts of the country have to ask where a site is, it has traditionally been a problem. When the kiteflier of the couple has to work hard to convince the non-kiteflier that they should spend their vacation at convention, a known location helps. This is an advantage for Milwaukee. Please note, this has NOTHING to do with the reality of the location, but of the perceptions of the rest of the Country. The AKA has never been good at marketing a location.

There is also a proposal from Rochester, MN. I don't know much about it, other than it is under serious consideration along with the WI sites.

I'm a member of another group scattered across the US...we've been trying to plan a get together and Door Co. was in the running for locations. Surprisingly, it wasn't the midwest delegation that propped it. That would be an assest for Appleton I'd think, that they're close to Door Co.

Mike wrote:I don't know anything about the Fox Cities area. They didn't send any photos and Google Maps doesn't have good satellite photos of the area. Anyone else know anything?

Jeff Hale should be able to tell us something, by merely looking out his window!

Hey Jeff, do you want the convention in your back yard?

Uh ohhh.... I KNEW this was coming!!!!

Wadda ya'll wanna know?????

The USA Youth Sports Complex in Appleton is the name of the venue which "Margaret" (better known as Peggy Becker, mother of Andy Becker...kite flier ** extraordinaire **) is talking about. Just so happens to be my main stomping grounds. One of 'em anyways, I'm fortunate to have 3 great places to fly at...all within 10-15 minutes of my house.

Tell ya what...it's past my bedtime already (12:45AM) and this guy has to be up again at 5AM to pull another 12hr shift at work. As much as I'd like to sit here & write several pages, there just isn't time right now. I'll try to set aside some time tomorrow night after getting home from work. Sorry!!

PS: Bummer this thread didn't get started WEEKS ago...rather than at the last minute. LOTS to talk about!

As most of you know by now, there will be a change in the board of AKA. The new board officially takes over on Thursday. The vote will come in January, around the 3rd wednesday.
Check the AKA website next week for the list of officers.
Barbara

"The prices pretty much knocked some of the places out of contention. Some wanted thousands of dollars extra for meeting space, etc. that other sites provide for free. Some of the sites have room rates that are too high. This pretty much leaves two sites, but I don't have real detailed field information for them yet. Both will be inland soccer complexes - one 4 miles from the hotel, the other 6 (all sites considered are inland). One has rooms around $84, the other ranges from $64 to $85. Both have indoor flying space and are relatively equidistant from airports. In other words, they're pretty similar. What should I look at that would make a difference to you?"

It sounds like Rochester, MN is one of the possibilities. At least any kite injuries would get the best of medical care--that's where the Mayo Clinic is.
I used to spend the night in Rochester (not the Mayo) a lot when taking Paul to and from Carleton College in MN. I never saw any kite flying though. It would be a long drive for us (about 7 hours from Champaign).

Appleton WI or Madison,WI would be much closer. With the low hotel prices, I bet they are thinking Appleton though.

Has there ever been thought of not just moving the location, but moving the date to, say, the second week of July 2009. Those AKA members with children would be more likely to attend as well as those of us (Lynn and I) who will be attending the Airstream International Rally in Madison the first week of July 2009.

I think the convention should always be held at a beach in winter.
We fly in the fickle Midwest winds all year long. Once a year, it would be nice to fly in smoother coastal winds. And leaving the cold for a warmer Southern beach in winter would also be a plus.